


a soft place to land

by seemeeimbeebee



Category: Outlander (TV), Outlander Series - Diana Gabaldon
Genre: Canon Compliant, Family Feels, Father-Daughter Relationship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Sick Character, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-30
Updated: 2020-04-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:07:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23931307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seemeeimbeebee/pseuds/seemeeimbeebee
Summary: Brianna gets sick, and in her delirious and feverish state might let Jamie know she needs her parents more than any of them could have realized before.TV Show canon adjacent; set some time in S5.
Relationships: Brianna Randall Fraser MacKenzie & Claire Beauchamp, Brianna Randall Fraser MacKenzie & Jamie Fraser, Claire Beauchamp/Jamie Fraser
Comments: 7
Kudos: 96





	a soft place to land

**Author's Note:**

> I was dying to have an opportunity for Jamie to take care of his daughter. Is sickfic the best thing to write during a global pandemic? Probably not. Did I do it anyway? ...maybe.
> 
> This is TV show canon adjacent, but like...who knows exactly when this is set? Everything is fairly vague to avoid any kind of massive spoilers. 
> 
> This is my first ever Outlander fic! You'll probably notice it very quickly. If there are any dialectical things/characterization/terminology I should be aware of, please let me know! I want to learn so I can get better! 
> 
> I hope you like it!

Ten thousand acres, occasionally, was not all it was promised to be.

Well, if Jamie was honest with himself it usually was everything he had ever hoped it would be and more.

But there was the rare occasion when his wife was called off to do healing and he was left in the house, that the land seemed quite empty this early in the morning. The sun was just climbing over the tree tops and light was just flooding into the house.

Sure, there was plenty to do, but Jamie reveled in the quiet moments with his Sassenach. After all, they hadn’t been given many quiet moments over the many years.

So, to have such a rare moment and to not have his wife there left him feeling…disgruntled. Claire affectionately may have called it ‘grumpy’ even.

His sour mood did not last long however, as distant shouting and the clattering of hooves sounded on the horizon.

_So much fer a quiet moment_ , he thought wryly, smirking only to himself and getting up from the kitchen table to see what the matter was _now_.

Because wasn’t something always the matter on Fraser’s Ridge?

He strolled leisurely to the door at first, but then the shouts became clearer.

“Claire! Claire!”

The terror in Roger’s voice stopped Jamie dead in his tracks for a moment before he sprinted to the doorway. “What is it, Roger?” Jamie demanded. “What’s happened? Is it Jemmy?”

Roger had barely dismounted his horse, trying to push past Jamie to get into the house. “Please, where is Claire?”

“She isna here,” Jamie said, grabbing onto Roger’s forcefully to try to get his son in law to look at him. “Now. Tell me what’s happened.”

“It’s _Bree_ ,” Roger choked out, desperation more than evident in his eyes and in his voice. Part of him was still trying to push past Jamie to get back into the house. “She’s…I don’t know how this could’ve happened. She’s been struck with some sort of fever and I can’t cool her down. She’s half-mad with it and I just…”

“Bree,” Jamie whispered breathlessly. Fevers of any sort were dangerous, but to know it was Bree who was well and truly that sick terrified him more than he could say. She should’ve been resistant to more diseases, that is what Claire always said. An image of Faith—so small—flashed in his mind for a moment and he prayed briefly that it would not take his other daughter too.

“I don’t know what to do, she’s been crying out for you and Claire all night!” Roger said wildly. “I’ve no medicine or anythin’.”

Roger’s panic felt infectious for a moment, clawing at his chest. The thought of losing Bree after just getting her for the first time was enough to bring him to his knees. Her and Claire were the loves of his life. Without one of them…

His mind nearly ventured to a scenario where they would have to bury Bree, but then he swore he could hear Claire’s voice in his head, urging him to take a deep breath and focus on getting Bree well again.

_What would Claire do?_

“Where’s Jemmy now?” Jamie found himself asking.

“I’ve asked Lizzie to take him and to stay away from Bree,” Roger replied, running a hand agitatedly through his long hair.

“Good lad,” Jamie praised, clasping his son-in-law’s shoulder. “Do ye ken whether o’ no’ Jemmy has been with Brianna since she’s been ill?” Roger shook his head. Jamie nodded, still feeling like his wife was guiding him even though she was half a day’s ride away. “And he hasna got the fever as well?”

Roger shook his head again. “I don’t think so. He didn’t seem any different this morning.”

The illness itself seemed to plague just Bree and he wasn’t sure whether it made him feel better or worse. 

“Who’s with her now?” Jamie asked roughly, marching toward the stables to get his own horse.

“Marsali,” Roger said, jogging to keep up with him. “Are you going to get Claire?”

Jamie paused for a moment, wondering if that was the best course of action. He was probably the faster rider of the two, and he knew exactly where Claire was. But Claire was at least quarter of a day’s journey from the Ridge, and any time trying to figure out what she had could be lost. And Roger said Brianna had been crying out all night for both of them…

“No,” he decided, turning back to look at Roger. “Ye are. Ye ken Brianna’s symptoms better than I, an’ it will save Claire time an’ can help Bree better if Claire ken what’s wrong with her before she even gets there.”

“But what if Bree dies while—”

Jamie whipped around to tower menacingly over Roger. “Brianna wilna die, no’ if we make haste,” he growled lowly. “Now, I’ll go to yer house and take care of Bree but ye need to find my wife as fast as ye possibly can. Claire’s at the Campbell house, about three hours northa here. Take the trail straight through.” He turned around quickly and immediately moved to begin saddling his horse.

“We can’t just leave Brianna alone!” Roger replied, following Jamie into the stable.

“We’re no’ going to leave her alone. I’ll go to my daughter. Ye’ll go an’ find her mother,” Jamie replied tersely, mounting his horse. Roger still stood there, his mouth hanging open. “An’ I swear on everythin’ I hold dear: if you dinna move right now, I’ll finish what I started when ye first arrived at the Ridge.”

_That_ finally got Roger moving and the man rushed back into his own horse and headed on the trail North.

With a click of his tongue and a tap of his heels against the horse’s flank, Jamie set off to Brianna and Roger’s cabin, trying to get to his daughter. The ride was short, and he knew it well, but he could not help but drive his horse as fast as it could go. It had been quite some time since he had felt the acute _terror_ of his child being in danger. 

Still, being panicked would do Bree no good. Jamie forced himself to breathe as he saw the cabin ahead.

“My laird,” Marsali sighed with relief when he dismounted. “It’s good to see ye.”

“How is she?” Jamie demanded worriedly, pushing into the house past her.

“Weak and afflicted with chills, but she wilna let us come near her with anything to cool her fever…” Marsali said worriedly. “She’s ben cryin’ fer ye and her ma since the middle o’ the night. Roger thought her fever would break, but it hasna yet.” Jamie kept fruitlessly looking around every corner as if his daughter would suddenly just appear. “She’s in her room! Best to keep her alone when she’s like this.”

“I canna and wilna leave her be, not when she’s been calling fer me,” Jamie replied desperately. “Now, I’m going to see my daughter.”

“Just…be careful,” Marsali said quietly.

Jamie nodded his thanks and pushed forward through the closed door. Brianna flinched at the sound of the door opening and tried to draw herself into a small ball. “No…” she mumbled fearfully. “No…”

Her forehead was slick with sweat and her red curls were all but plastered to her face. Her normally bright eyes were glassy with fever and she seemed so small and frail in her bed.

Jamie immediately took Marsali’s vacant chair and drew it beside his daughter so he could see her. “A leannan,” he whispered tenderly. He gently reached out and tried to stroke her cheek. Brianna whimpered and tried to hide away from the hand coming toward her face. 

Jamie moved his chair forward slightly and leaned down so she could see him. “A leannan, it’s me. It’s yer Da…”

“Da?” Brianna rasped, her eyes flickering up to his. Her lower lip trembled, and she tentatively pressed her head against his hand. She was burning to the touch and Jamie tenderly brushed her cheek, trying to soothe her. “I thought…I thought you were _him_.”

He felt his heart split in two at the crack in her voice.

“He’s going to come back, he’s always right there…” Brianna babbled feverishly, her eyes fluttering shut. “I kept calling for you and Mama, but nobody came…” She tossed her head weakly, trying to get comfortable, but even that small gesture seemed to take so much energy. “I kept calling and calling…he keeps hiding away but I know he’s there…”

He gingerly sat at the edge of her bed, unable to bear the distance between them any longer. “I’m here now, m’annsachd,” he whispered, leaning down to kiss her head, making sure to keep his movement soft and slow. “And yer mother is on her way.” 

“Don’t let him get me, Da. Please don’t let him get me…” she begged weakly. Brianna moved against his side, looking for his protection even her weakened and feverish state.

“Never,” Jamie promised lowly, wrapping his arm gently around her. Her quaking body felt so frail in his arms and once again, despair threatened to swallow him whole.

But then he looked down at the red head nestled against his shoulder and swore to himself that he would not give that monster a voice, not while Brianna was still breathing.

“He’ll ne’er touch you again, as long as I’m alive. I’m right here to protect ye,” Jamie promised lowly, kissing her temple. The door creaked open, and Marsali stood with a basin of cold water. He nodded and she brought the basin to Brianna’s bedside. “I wilna let any harm come to ye…”

He tenderly rocked Bree in his arms, hating that this was only the second time he’d ever gotten to really cradle her close like this in her entire life. “Can we get that fever down?” Jamie hummed, affection lacing his words. “Hmm?”

When Marsali tried to reach for Brianna, Brianna screamed and tried to push herself away with a surprising amount of energy. Brianna broke away from his grasp with a terrified sob, curling in on herself, trying to protect herself from her imagined attacker.

“It’s all right, it’s all right,” Jamie soothed, gingerly putting his hand on Brianna’s shoulder. “Remember what I told ye, Bree? As long as I’m here, yer safe.” He met Marsali’s gaze over Brianna’s shoulder and he tilted his head toward the door, asking her to leave. “Dinna fash, a leannan.” 

Marsali frowned and took a step back but did not leave quite yet. She looked ready to kick Jamie out of the room, to intervene in what she thought would be Brianna’s best care.

Jamie flared his nostrils and let out a huff of annoyance. He could bless Marsali’s stubbornness at times, but right now he could truly curse it.

His daughter needed his care and he was going to give it to her.

Delicately, he picked up the cloth and put Brianna’s hand on top of it. “Do ye feel that, lass?” he asked faintly. Brianna’s gaze came to his and he couldn’t help but feel like his daughter was still looking through him and not at him. “Will this hurt ye?”

She shook her head. Brianna watching him warily as he began to blot her overheated skin with the cloth, shivering as he did so. “’s cold,” she complained, resting her head back on his shoulder.

“I ken, lass, I ken…” he chuckled softly. “But ‘twill help ye feel better faster…”

Her tremors intensified as he kept blotting her skin with the cloth. “Da,” Brianna cried out weakly, tears streaking down her cheeks. “Don’t go, Da. Please don’t go…”

“Shhh, shhh…” Jamie soothed his daughter, blotting her forehead and neck with the cold cloth. “I’m right here, lass. I’m right here. I havna gone anywhere. An’ I wilna go anywhere until yer better.” 

Marsali wordlessly got up to go get another blanket to tuck around Brianna to try stop the shivering.

Jamie kept wiping her down, praying that her fever would break and that this would do something to help her rather than hurt her. Her hands were shaking so much that she could barely hold onto his coat, but he was honestly more terrified of what could mean if her hands ever stopped shaking.

_Many have survived a simple fever and Brianna will too…_ he thought, looking back down at her. She’d travelled from her time to his own, across the seas to make her way to him and Claire. Jamie knew that she could not be struck down by something as mild as a fever. Not when her heart was as strong as any Fraser he ever knew.

Besides, he would not let it. He’d stop Death itself for his girl if he had to.

When Marsali returned to the room, she quickly tucked another blanket around Brianna. Bree curled into it, bringing the blanket up to her nose and hiding away in it. Then she burrowed back against him, letting out small noises of displeasure every time the cold cloth met her skin.

Jamie couldn’t help the little smile that crossed his face, one that he found himself often wearing when he looked at her. Like her mother, incredibly easy to find new things to love about her, and this was no exception. Even as sick as she was, he was learning new things about her and it was something he never thought he’d ever get to have.

He felt his heart fit to burst with joy, and he took a moment to rest his cheek on top of her head.

“Da?” Brianna croaked out when it had been silent for far too long. “Are you ashamed of me?”

His heart all but plummeted to his stomach and he hoped it did not show on his face. They once had a variant of this conversation before, shortly after she arrived, and it shook him more deeply than he would’ve liked to admit that she held on so tightly to these feelings of guilt and shame.

“Wha…Bree, of course no’. Why would I be ashamed of ye?” Jamie asked worriedly, stroking her hair back. He leaned back to look at her, to try and get her attention, but she didn’t look up at him. “ _A leannan_ ,” he pleaded desperately, hating the way his own voice cracked. “Brianna, look at me please.”

Her gaze was so wretched and full of despair that his heart nearly broke. He did everything in his power to hold her even closer to him. Protectively keeping her against his side, he whispered fiercely, “A father could ne’er be ‘shamed of having a daughter like you, Bree. Ne’er.”

“I’m not strong enough to fight Steven Bonnet,” Brianna said, the tears trailing down her cheeks in earnest. “I’ve never been strong…and I’m so _sorry_.” She let out a gasping, heaving sob. “It was my fault, Da. He’s going to come here, and it’ll be my fault.”

Her cries only intensified her trembling and Jamie wished that holding her tighter would solve it.

“Ye canna blame yerself for the deeds of wicked men, Bree,” Jamie promised her softly, gently tilting his daughter’s chin upward, silently praying that the seriousness of his words could give her comfort. “Ye crossed an ocean and time itself…just to protect yer family. If that dinna make ye strong, then I dinna ken what does.” He delicately stroked her cheek with his thumb, desperately trying to hold back his own tears. “Any father would be lucky to have a daughter like ye, Bree. And that’s God’s truth.”

“But what if he comes here? And hurts Jemmy or you…” Brianna’s head lolled weakly toward the door. “Where’s Mama?” she asked, her eyes suddenly wide with fear and her breathing fast and shallow. With a surprising amount of urgency, she flung the covers off the bed and weakly tried to make her way to the door, only to fall to her knees after a few steps.

Jamie was right there beside her, to catch her before she could ever hit the floor.

“Where’s Mama?” Brianna repeated desperately, her hands shaking so much that she could barely cling to him. “She can’t be alone. He’ll hurt her…we have to find her, Da, please. We have to find her.” Her sobs began anew, and Jamie scooped her up and carried her back to bed.

“Roger’s gone to fetch her,” Jamie promised, gently laying her back down in her bed. “D’ye trust yer mother’s life with Roger?” While he always didn’t, it was clear Brianna did from the quick nod of her head. “Roger will protect yer mother…an’ I’m right here to protect ye, mo chridhe.”

“’s a new one,” she whispered, her eyes fluttering shut as she rested her head against her pillow. “What does it mean?”

Gingerly, he tucked the covers back in around her and sweetly brushed her hair out of her face once more. “It means ‘my heart’,” he murmured softly. He tenderly took Brianna’s hand and put it over his chest, right over his beating heart. “That’s only fer ye, and yer mother…” he told her. “But I need you to rest, and protect my heart, a leannan. Ye’ve a terrible fever, and I need my heart to be well.”

“He comes when I close my eyes for too long,” Brianna whispered. “And how do I know you won’t disappear?”

“Hold fast to my hand,” Jamie told her, and though the tone was soft the words were firm and strong. “An’ ye’ll ken I’m here. An’ ye’ll ken yer safe.” He slowly lowered Bree’s hand so he could hold onto it. She shifted a little bit closer to him, lessening the strain on both of their arms. “Now, will ye take some water?”

Brianna suspiciously eyed the cloth that was draped against the side of the bucket of water. “Pretty sure I’ve had enough water for today,” she muttered, and he chuckled, giving her hand a squeeze.

“I meant fer drinkin’, lass.”

* * *

_I have always depended on the kindness of strangers._

While A Streetcar Named Desire wouldn’t be written for another hundred and eighty years or so, and that was certainly not the meaning of the quote in its original context, Claire couldn’t help but admit that the kindness of strangers was something she relied on quite a bit in her travels to the past.

Of course, with it came the harrowing trials her whole family had been through to prove that the quote in its context was right, but Claire could hardly think on that as she rode back home.

Roger had burst through the door at the Campbell’s looking more than half a madman, but the minute that the Campbells heard that it was Claire’s daughter who needed her now they did not hesitate to give her and Roger fresh horses with the promise that they would give the horses back for their own when Claire returned for a follow-up appointment.

In all honesty, it sounded like a minor infection if Bree’s other symptoms were to go by, but it was so hard not to worry when there was so little she could do as a doctor for her daughter. Especially since Brianna was hallucinating, according to Roger.

_That meant her fever had to be at least a hundred and two degrees…and has been for at least a few hours,_ Claire thought worriedly, trying to push the horse a little faster.

Before, it was as simple as giving her some acetaminophen. And now she just had to hope that Jamie and Marsali were doing enough to keep her fever down.

_Now is when a car would’ve been helpful!_ Claire thought irritably, hating the way the horse’s breath sounded when they finally came to a stop in front of Roger and Brianna’s home. Dismounting, she quickly pressed her head to the horse’s forehead. “Thank you,” she murmured quietly.

“I’ll untack them, and then I’ll come see Bree—” Roger started, as Claire headed in.

“You will absolutely not!” Claire said, holding her hand up. “You are going to untack the horses and you’ll need to get some rest. You’ve been up all night, your immune system is weakened, and you’ll be no use to Jemmy or Bree if you get sick too!” Roger’s gaze flickered past her and Claire softened. “I know you want to see her. But you have to give Jemmy his best chance. And you’ll have plenty of time to dote on her once she’s no longer infectious, all right?”

Roger took in a deep breath and nodded. “I just…want to help her. Make sure she’s all right.”

“And you will. But the best thing you can do for her right now is make sure that Jemmy is taken care of,” Claire said kindly, before picking up the skirt of her dress and rushing into the house.

“Mistress Fraser! We’ve been waiting for ye!” Marsali said brightly from where she was washing bed linnens. “We’ve just changed Brianna’s bedsheets and nightgown. Poor thing sweat through them.”

“So, the fever’s broken?” Claire asked, letting out a sigh of relief.

“Aye, ‘bout an hour a two ago, though she still seems very tired,” Marsali reported. She tilted her head toward the back room. “She’s been refusing to sleep so maybe ye can help Jamie with that.”

“Thank you.” Claire quickly hugged Marsali before walking toward the back room. She paused at the door for a moment before taking a deep breath and opening it slowly.

Admittedly, it was hard to see the sight through her tears, but there were Jamie and Brianna, sitting up right in the bed. Brianna’s head was resting on Jamie’s shoulder and there was a book in Jamie’s right hand. Bree was clinging to Jamie’s left hand like the world would end if she let go.

“Bree, are ye sleepin’, lass?” Jamie murmured softly into her hair, not seeing Claire at first. “It’s yer turn to turn the page, and I canna do it with one hand.”

“Not sleeping,” Brianna grunted, though her eyes were shut. Opening one eye, she lifted her hand weakly to turn the page.

“Thank ye, mo chridhe,” Jamie hummed, kissing her forehead. When he looked up, his smile only grew at seeing Claire standing there. “Bree?” he uttered gently, nudging her with his shoulder. “There’s someone here to see ye.”

Bree rolled over, the scowl clear on her face at being disrupted from her rest. But when she saw it was her mother, she let out a joyful little croak of, “Mama!”

Claire rushed to the bedside and knelt by Bree, running her hands all over her daughter. Her hands seemed to have a mind of their own, not clinically checking for any harm but just to make sure she was still here, still with them. “Oh, my darling…” she whispered, peppering a few kisses to Bree’s face. “I’m so glad you’re all right…”

“Da took good care of me,” Brianna mumbled sleepily, shifting a little bit so she could look at Claire more fully. Her hand still did not let go of Jamie’s. “He was like a regular Dr. Styner…” Both Brianna and Claire let out a small chuckle at that, and Claire ran her fingers through her daughter’s hair, not saying anything for a few moments as she took Brianna in. “Mama?” she asked, her voice still not capable of much more than a whisper. “Are you okay?”

“From Roger’s telling of it, you sounded a little closer to leaving us than I would’ve liked,” Claire admitted, leaning to press her forehead against Brianna’s. “And three hours is quite a long time to sit with the worst-case scenario.”

“Da probably would’ve punched the Grim Reaper in the face and said he wasn’t welcome on the Ridge,” Brianna murmured confidently, her eyes fluttering shut again. Claire and Jamie’s eyes met over Brianna and they both smiled. “He promised that nothing would happen while he was here…”

“And it wilna,” Jamie murmured, pressing a kiss to Bree’s hair. 

After a few minutes of Claire gently running her fingers through Brianna’s hair, and Jamie gently rubbing her shoulder, Brianna was fast asleep. A small smile played across her lips as her breathing evened out. 

Jamie slowly moved himself to the empty chair by Brianna’s bedside and opened his arms up to Claire. Claire sat in his lap and wrapped her arms tightly around him. “Thank you for taking care of her,” she whispered, her voice tight. Jamie’s grip tightened around her, and she nestled in closer. “I hate that I couldn’t do anything for her.”

“Ye did more than ye ken, Sassenach,” Jamie told her. “If I hadna remembered things from watching ye, then I prolly wouldna ken what to do for our daughter.”

“God, I was so worried about her the whole time…” Claire said, shifting to watch Brianna. Jamie’s hand came to her back and gently rubbed it. “Roger said she was talking out of her head—hallucinating—all night and said he had been when he left her.”

“No’ talking out her head, but out her heart,” Jamie said quietly, his brow furrowing as he thought about the things his daughter had talked about. He placed his chin on Claire’s shoulder, his own voice shaking, “She’s been holding on to so much pain…”

“What did she tell you?” Claire asked softly, running her hand through Jamie’s hair now.

“She asked if I was ashamed of her,” Jamie whispered. “She still blames herself for Bonnet…ye and I ken better than most that the wound will be with her for some time, but it breaks my heart to know she fears us thinking less of her…” He let out a shuddering sigh and closed his eyes for a moment.

Claire pressed her cheek to his head, smiling a little when Jamie kissed her cheek. “We can take care of her now,” she replied, making sure to keep her voice low to not wake Bree. “And remind her how proud we are of her. And protect her.”

“Aye, that we can,” Jamie agreed, running his hand up and down Claire’s arm.

“We should probably get you bathed to make sure the infection hasn’t spread, and your clothes need to be washed,” Claire said tiredly, gently placing her hand on his wrist.

“Anything to rid me of my clothes, eh, Sassenach?” Jamie teased weakly, his eyes sparkling with mischief.

Claire gave him a playful swat. “Go on, my love. I’ll watch her until you return.”

“An’ there’s no way of convincing ye to join me?” Jamie asked with a pout. Brianna made a noise in her sleep and snuggled in closer to her blankets. Both Claire and Jamie softened, despite their daughter being a fully grown adult with a child of her own.

“We’ll be here when you return,” Claire promised him, getting up off his lap.

“I love you both,” Jamie said, standing up.

“Love you too,” Brianna whispered from the bed.


End file.
